WHILE YOU WERE WORKING: Libertarian godfather Ron Paul went on MSNBC to talk Syria in an explosive nearly 15 minute interview with anchor Alex Witt.

— RON PAUL ON SYRIA: “I think there’s a historic event going on here and if this vote is won — that is, defeat the request to have a more military approach to Syria — I think it will be historic because it would be a grand coalition of the libertarian Republicans and the Democratic progressives. Everybody’s worried about the split in the Democrats, the split in the Republicans. I’m delighted with that split because it’s pushing people together who are on opposite ends of the spectrum, one which I enjoy … The grand deception is that we’re doing this for national security — that is so bizarre.”

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— ON SON SEN. RAND PAUL: “No, I don’t [speak to him on the phone regularly]. As a matter of fact, he goes his way and I go my way because we’re pretty independent minded. But he obviously has views very similar to mine, and he has spoken out pretty strongly to this war, so I haven’t sensed that he has much of a different position.” POLITICO’s Lucy McCalmont with the recap: http://politi.co/1cLN7Pm Speaking of Rand …

LEADING GOP SENATE 2016ers ALL OPPOSE SYRIA ACTION: Sens. Paul, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) each oppose military action in Syria, as NBC News’s political team noted. “The three Senate Republicans who could possibly run for president in 2016 — Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul — all appear opposed to using force in Syria. As one of us wrote earlier this week, Republicans have to navigate two cross-currents here: (1) the GOP base’s dislike of Obama, and (2) the GOP base’s desire to always side with Israel and its interests.

Well, we know what force is winning so far. The Rubio/Cruz/Paul opposition to using military force in Syria does create a GIANT opening for a conservative hawk in the 2016 field. (Hello, Chris Christie?) By the way, you have to wonder if Rubio’s co-authorship of the Senate immigration bill influenced his vote on Syria … Rubio’s decision was a noticeable reversal from his past rhetoric and actions.” Read the analysis: http://nbcnews.to/17GYhln

POP QUIZ: Which GOP senator canceled a trip to New Hampshire tomorrow in order to attend Syria briefings on the Hill? Keep reading …

THIS IS PRO REPORT. And I’m Kevin Cirilli. Rachael Bade is off today and tomorrow, so they’ve brought me off the bench. And there’s a ton happening in Syria. So email your thoughts: kcirilli@politico.com. Tweet: @kevcirilli < https://twitter.com/kevcirilli> . Back to Syria, where a surprising alliance of tea partiers and progressives could look to stall Obama’s foreign policy plans…

OBAMA SPENDS HIS CAPITAL: The White House says it’s unknown how Syria will impact President Barack Obama’s second-term agenda. But POLITICO’s Carrie Budoff Brown and Jake Sherman report that his political capital is spreading thin: “[With Syria, Obama] appears ready to spend a lot of the political capital that he would have kept in reserve for his domestic priorities. A resolution authorizing the use of force in Syria won’t make it through the House or the Senate without significant cajoling from the White House. That means Obama, who struggles to get Congress to follow his lead on almost everything, could burn his limited leverage persuading Democrats and Republicans to vote for an unpopular military operation that even the president says he could carry out with or without their approval.” Full story: http://politi.co/1eivadd

PROGRESSIVES FORM ANTI-WAR COALITION, Pro Defense’s Leigh Munsil with the story: “A coalition of progressive groups is calling on Congress to vote down the authorization for military intervention in Syria. ‘The House is where we’re going to be able to stop this war,’ said Becky Bond, the political director for CREDO Action, a social change organization that funds progressive nonprofits. ‘The House is quite divided, the majority of the members have not made up their mind and there’s a growing number of members on both sides of the aisle that are going to vote no or are leaning no. The White House is putting an enormous amount of pressure on these members.’ So in response to the Obama administration push, CREDO and Moveon.Org have called for a ‘day of action’ on Sept. 9 to call on members of Congress to vote no on Syrian intervention, and want to organize thousands of calls and emails to congressional offices asking lawmakers to oppose military action.” http://politico.pro/17zRpUM

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TOP 10: ‘COUNTRIES SUPPORTING ACTION IN SYRIA’ EDITION: The State Department released a list of 10 countries that support a U.S. response to Syria using chemical weapons: Australia, Albania, Canada, Denmark, France, Kosovo, Poland, Turkey and Romania… but wait — that’s only nine! America would be the 10th country. That’s if Congress approves ...

SENATORS STILL SKEPTICAL OF U.S. ACTION: POLITICO’s Burgess Everett and Seung Min Kim reported mid-morning today that senators remain skeptical of military action in Syria: “Senators continued to express doubt over a proposed congressional authorization of military force in Syria as top Obama administration officials kicked off two jam-packed days of closed briefings intended to drum up support for the resolution.

Entering the briefing in the Hart Office Building, several members of the Senate Intelligence Committee said they are firmly undecided on how they will vote on the resolution when it comes before the full Senate next week for an expected Wednesday procedural vote. The legislation will be filed in a brisk pro forma Senate session Friday to prepare the resolution for full Senate consideration, aides said. A full Senate briefing is scheduled for Monday after the evening’s round of votes, a chance for members back from recess to catch up to their colleagues.” http://politi.co/19mx3lo

Meanwhile, in Russian politics —

PUTIN IN PRIME TIME? New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in 2005 following a visit to Russia that Vladimir took his ring without permission, a claim he later retracted. Kraft told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ this morning: "The [Russian] president has made a comment that he's making me a new ring. So we want to invite him to come here and give it to us on NBC during one of our national games here." http://www.cnbc.com/id/101008408

PRO REPORT WONDERS: Can you imagine Putin giving back the ring in Philadelphia? Just think of how we Philly fans treated Santa Claus.

BIAS ALERT: Deadspin’s Drew Magary writes a post dubbed "Why Your Team Sucks 2013: Washington Redskins." Re: RGIII, the NFL’s Cory Booker: “Only the Redskins could draft such a brilliant young talent, let him get slaughtered on a rec softball league-quality playing surface, and then spend the entire offseason passive aggressively sniping with both him and his doctor. RGIII is the most exciting player in football, yet he is exceptionally fragile, unsurprisingly pigheaded, and is flanked by WTA-quality stage parents.” http://deadsp.in/1cLhMfL

OK back to work, here’s today’s top policy news:

SYRIA PUSHES AFGHANISTAN OFF RADAR: “Washington hasn’t paid much attention to Afghanistan for a while, but with Syria now dominating the capital, its longest war seems to have slipped even further off the radar. The White House’s full-court press on Syria has analysts wondering why the Obama administration hasn’t rallied a similar effort when it comes to Afghanistan, where 60,000 U.S. troops are still fighting. … Afghanistan has long been ‘Obama’s war,’ and yet lawmakers said this week that they hadn’t seen the White House exert as much energy as it has on Syria in years.”

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY tells Pro’s Kate Brannen: “I’ve never frankly seen a greater level of public engagement on an issue since the health care reform debate of 2009.” http://politico.pro/151SEjn Speaking of Obamacare …

OBAMA READIES OBAMACARE AD BLITZ: The Obama administration is readying a multimillion-dollar onslaught of ads in a dozen Republican-led states to encourage Americans to sign up for Obamacare insurance exchanges, media-tracking sources told POLITICO’s Alexander Burns and Kyle Cheney.

“CMS has reserved at least $12 million in airtime starting Sept. 30 in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisiana and Michigan. All but one, Missouri, are led by Republican governors — including many who have been hostile to the health law — and even in Missouri, a Republican-dominated legislature has set an anti-Obamacare agenda.” Full story: http://politico.pro/1dKnH7M

TEA PARTY BLASTS MCCONNELL ON OBAMACARE: Maybe the White House could throw a bone to the GOP minority leader and air their ads in Kentucky? Doubt it. Pro’s Paige Winfield Cunningham reports: “The Senate Conservatives Fund has launched $340,000 in television ads slamming Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for not taking a hardline stance on defunding the health care law.

TAX REFORM BREAKS UP? Pro’s Kelsey Snell: “The Senate Finance Committee is considering several options to move on tax reform this fall, including breaking up a package into several pieces instead of one comprehensive bill, according to Democratic committee aides.

Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has pledged to mark up a tax reform bill by the end of the year and splitting the overhaul into several pieces could make the complex effort easier to swallow. But it also might frustrate Republicans who are pushing for one massive bill that would rewrite both corporate and individual tax laws.

The option to break up the bills emerged as aides worked over the recess to create a plan of action to make sure tax reform stays on the increasingly tight legislative calendar for this year. The congressional to-do list is already crowded, with a vote on the use of force in Syria, fiscal debates over raising the debt limit, a continuing resolution to fund the federal government and patching reimbursement rates for doctors who treat Medicare patients.” Full story: http://politico.pro/17HLTl7

HOUSING UPDATE via MJ Lee and Jon Prior: “Republicans uneasy with a plan approved earlier this year by the House Financial Services Committee to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could soon have another option to consider. Rep. John Carney (D-Del.) is working on a proposal that would be similar to a centrist approach introduced in the Senate by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), and it has already attracted serious interest from some GOP lawmakers, according to sources, including Rep. Stephen Fincher of Tennessee. At least two other Republicans on the committee have considered teaming up with Carney, according to a source.” http://politico.pro/18wWWxN

QUIZ ANSWER: Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), often named a 2016-contender, canceled a trip to New Hampshire on Friday in order to attend Syria briefings on the Hill, via The Columbus Dispatch: http://bit.ly/17S1XVk

ONE MORE THING: “One out of 10 American high school students used e-cigarettes in 2012, along with nearly three in 10 middle-school students, according to a new federal report — that’s about double the rate of e-cigarette use in 2011,” reports the LA Times: http://lat.ms/1amijHy

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About The Author

Kevin Cirilli is a financial services reporter for POLITICO Pro. Prior to that, he worked on the breaking news team. Before joining POLITICO, he helped cover the Jerry Sandusky scandal for Newsweek/The Daily Beast and Philadelphia Magazine. At Penn State University, he was a recipient of the Damon M. Chappie Award for Investigative Journalism and was campus editor of the student newspaper, The Daily Collegian. Cirilli was a Pulliam Fellow of Journalism at The Arizona Republic. He grew up in suburban Philadelphia's Delaware County. In his free time, he enjoys eating Philly food and running.